CHENNAI: Picking the right milestone film is a gamble. While most actors go for genres or characters that always work for them, some choose to step out of their comfort zone. With his 25th film, Ranam-Aram Thavarel, Vaibhav strikes the right chord. He goes diametrically opposite to his strong comedy suit and plays a more restrained, straight-faced character in an interesting investigation thriller, helmed by first-time filmmaker Sherief.
In Ranam, Vaibhav is a co-director turned facial reconstruction artist, who, in addition to reconstructing the faces of deformed dead people, also writes crime stories, completing unsolved investigations for police officials. He gets embroiled in one such serial killing case, as he tries to connect the dots to find the perpetrator. There are rather long portions in Ranam that don’t feature Vaibhav at all, yet another bold move.
The film is more about the victims of the crime. While Vaibhav plays Siva to perfection, his character could have been explored better.
Although a flashback conveys why he had to transition from a chirpy co-director to a silent facial reconstructionist, the film is not thorough in explaining the switch. Further, the film also throws in medical conditions like selective amnesia and a very interesting type of stroke, but they’re not explored much, and the latter especially, does not add much value to his character and ends up feeling like a convenient plot device.
At the heart of Ranam is a psychological disorder, which the filmmaker argues is more of a fetish or a habit. Based on a controversial judgement that the abovementioned “disorder” is not a crime, director Sherief mixes worlds of redemption, revenge and taking justice unto one’s hands to present an interesting mix of a film, that makes us leave theatres with the perplexing question of what is indeed right or wrong.
When it comes to perpetrators, there are not one but two red herrings, and so when the third potential perp is hinted at, you know it is them after all. In spite of that, Ranam gets all the more engaging at this point, as you’re curious to know the reasons for the crime.
With a convoluted non-linear screenplay that fits well into the puzzle eventually, Ranam argues in favour of the popular Athichudi ‘Aranai Maravel’ which is restated as ‘Aram Thavarel’ in this film. It talks about why it is important to take up any opportunity to do a good deed, even if it goes against the judiciary or another crime itself.
To put it simply, the film’s message can be summarised with one dialogue from the film itself, “Inga elaa unmaiyum adhukaana nyayatha thedikum. Indha unmaikum nyayathukkum nadula namma yaar?”
Another fascinating aspect of the film is its three female leads. Saras Menon’s character is more of a cameo, but it is important to cross all T’s and dot all I’s at the end of Ranam. Nandita Shwetha only makes an appearance in the second half, but her character Kalki, ends up as the soul of the film.
For Tanya Hope, her character Indhuja, a police officer, is unlike her previous characters. She is bold and determined, but that’s just about it. While it was definitely a breath of fresh air to see a woman at the helm of things, I wish I got to know more about Indhuja or why she allows Siva to solve her case, as she only gives orders. But again, that story would probably be a film of itself.
In the end, Ranam has its shortfalls, no doubt. Yes, too many themes are addressed, but most of them have satisfying payoffs. Yes, some characterisations could have been better than others, but Vaibhav’s experimentation hits the ball out of the park.
The film can be witnessed through Indhuja, Siva or Kalki’s perspectives, all different, but all valid. Rest assured, when you walk out of the theatres, you know who’s the biggest evil of the tale (both the person and the problem). Yet, you are also in deep thought about the ethicality of the actions taken up by the protagonists, potentially making no one the ‘hero’ of the film.
Movie: Ranam-Aram Thavarel
Director: Sherief
Cast: Vaibhav, Nanditha Shwetha, Tanya Hope, Saras Menon, Suresh Chakravarthy 3/5
Review: 3/5